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Valencia are keen to offer a new contract to Spanish left back Juan Bernat amidst rumours linking him with Manchester United and Napoli.

Juan Bernat is Valencia’s youth team product, who was promoted to the first team in the 2011-12 season. Since the departure of Jordi Alba to Barcelona, Valencia have struggled to find a permanent solution to the left side of the defence, but this season Juan Bernat has stepped up to the plate and made himself a regular in the Spanish side. Bernat, who mostly started his career as a left winger, has switched to his role as a left back with utmost ease, but has retained the attacking side of his game and can still play in a more forward role if needed.

Bernat’s progress with Valencia this season hasn’t gone unnoticed as the Spanish U-21 international has drawn interest from Manchester United, Napoli and Inter Milan among many others. David Moyes is expected to spend heavily in the summer transfer market as he looks to rejuvenate his squad after a disappointing season. Strengthening his defence will be his priority this season and a new left back is at the top of his wish list. Patrice Evra is expected to leave in the summer, while Alexander Buttner has failed to step-up as of yet.

United have already been linked with a big money move for Southampton left back Luke Shaw in the summer. But Southampton’s high demands might force David Moyes to look elsewhere and he has reportedly marked out Juan Bernat as a possible alternative. But Manchester United will face competition from Inter Milan and Napoli, who have also scouted the Spaniard.

Juan Bernat’s current contract runs till 2015 and Valencia are keen to offer him a new contract in order to retain him in the summer. Valencia’s Sporting Director Francisco Rufete has stressed on their desire to retain Bernat beyond this season in an interview.

“Juan is a home-grown player from our academy and is a very important player for us.

“We want him to stay with us for a long time, but we also know that there are many clubs that are interested in him because he is playing at such a good level.

“It is good that the team continues to produce such results and Bernat is certainly a player that interests Napoli and many other clubs, but our intention is to keep him.” – Rufete said.

Reports also suggest that Italian club Napoli are also willing to offer Eduardo Vargas, who is currently on loan at Valencia, as a part of their attempt Bernat from the Spanish club, but Rufete has played down that possibility as of now.

“We cannot plan too much in the long term and have to think about the present more, which is to have a good end to the season.

“At the end of the season we will see what happens, what the player says and what Napoli think.

“Now we are not thinking about what we are going to do with Vargas nor with any other player because we are focusing on doing well in Europe.” – He added.